Introduction
Vietnam is a tropical country in Southeast Asia. It extends south from China in a long, narrow S-curve. Laos and Cambodia lie west of Vietnam, and the South China Sea lies to the east. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city.
A Short Background
France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. U.S. economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but U.S. armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult, as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market.
Geography
Lying on the Indochinese peninsula, Vietnam borders on China to the North; Laos and Cambodia to the West and looks out to the sea in the East and the South like a long balcony reaching the Pacific Ocean. Vietnam has the shape of an elongated S. It is a bridge connecting the continental part of Southeast Asia to the scattering archipelagos in the Eastern Sea.
Vietnam owns 329,600 square kilometers in the tropical and subtropical zone. This lovely country benefits a great amount of sunshine year round. Its 3,300km of coastline offers a satisfactory choice of resorts, hotels and wonderful sandy beaches. Vietnam has five main land regions: (1) the Northern Highlands, (2) the Red River Delta, (3) the Annamite Range, (4) the Coastal Lowlands, and (5) the Mekong Delta.
Climate
The North of Vietnam has four, clear-cut seasons. The sunny season lasts from October till June however the South has dry and wet seasons. It usually showers in the evening or early morning. The highlands have temperate climate. The humidity degree varies from 80% to 100%. Every year, Vietnam receives approximately 600 billion tons of rainfall. The average temperature changes from 22 to 27 degrees centigrade. Some places like Dalat and Sapa have a maximum temperature of 20 degrees in the summer. No monsoons, or big floods occur in the South of Vietnam at all. Visitors can come to Vietnam all year with no climatic disadvantages.
People
Thousands of years ago, people moved into the Vietnam area from the north and from islands to the south. The Vietnamese people probably developed out of these two groups. Today, they make up almost 90% of Vietnam’s population. Tay, Thai, Chinese, and Khmer are the largest minority groups in Vietnam. Of Viet-Muong origin, the Vietnamese have slim body build, black hair, and brown or black eyes. Over 70 million people of 54 ethnic groups live in harmony in Vietnam territory.
The largest group is Viet or Kinh, accounting for 80% of the whole population. The Vietnamese inherited an age-old civilization that dated back to 4,000 B.C., as proved in various scientific and archaeological researches.
Language
Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. The people speak three major dialects (local forms) of Vietnamese - northern, central, and southern. But these dialects differ little from one another. Many members of the country’s minority groups speak Vietnamese in addition to their own languages. In spite of 1,000 years of domination by the Chinese, the Vietnamese have their own language. They modified Chinese characters once. Since 1900, they absorbed the Latin system through the Western missionaries. Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language. Each sound has a meaning. English, French and Japanese can be communicated in many shops, restaurants, hotels and resorts. Many Vietnamese people, especially those living in the cities, can also speak English, French, Chinese, or Russian.
Religion
The Communist leaders of Vietnam discourage all religious practices. Most of the Vietnamese people who practice a religion are Buddhists. There are no national religions. However Buddhism is relatively popular in Vietnam. Some Catholic churches and Buddhist pagodas are attractive to tourists. In the South there is a special religion called Caodaism. It is a mixture of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Worship of Genie. A majority of Vietnamese practice the ancestral worship.
Two small religious groups - the Hoa Hao and the Cao Dai - have developed in the South since 1920. Hoa Hao is closely related to Buddhism. Cao Dai combines certain beliefs of Taoism and Buddhism with those of several other religions.
Administration
The present constitution, promulgated in 1992, asserts the political supremacy of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 496-member National Assembly is responsible for legislation. The Assembly is elected every five years from candidates proposed by the CPV. Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers. The Assembly elects a President, who acts as head of state and also appoints a Prime Minister from among the members of the Assembly. The Prime Minister leads the Council of Ministers who hold executive power.
Facts for the Traveler
Visas: Bureaucratic hassles will be your first problem in getting a visa - expect delays of five days or more; Bangkok is the best place to get one. It’s usually best to get your visas through a travel agency. Expense is the other problem; tourist visas valid for a single 30-day stay cost about $40 in Bangkok.
Health risks: Dengue fever, hepatitis, malaria, rabies (if in the country for a month or more), typhoid and tuberculosis (if staying with locals in a high risk area for a few months or more).
Electricity: 220V and 50Hz, but 110V (also with 50Hz) may be encountered.
Weights & Measures: Metric with local variations.
When to Go
There are no good or bad seasons to visit Vietnam. When one region is wet, cold or steamy hot, there is always somewhere else that is sunny and pleasant. Basically, the south has two seasons: the wet (May to November, wettest from June to August) and the dry (December to April). The hottest and most humid time is from the end of February to May. The central coast is dry from May to October and wet from December to February. The highland areas are significantly cooler than the lowlands, and temperatures can get down to freezing in winter. The north has two seasons: cool, damp winters (November to April) and hot summers (May to October). There is the possibility of typhoons between July and November, affecting the north and central areas.
Travelers should take the Tet New Year festival (late January or early February) into account when planning a trip. Travel (including international travel) becomes very difficult, hotels are full and many services close down for at least a week and possibly a lot longer. | 
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